# The complete guide to freezing cigars



## Suzza (Mar 18, 2010)

I felt that http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/cigar-questions/272095-science-behind-freezing.html needed a bit of an update that compiled important information from the 20 pages of discussion, plus information from other threads.

*How to freeze cigars*

All about cigar beetles: cigarette beetle - Lasioderma serricorne F.

_Please note that many hardcore aficionados have been freezing their cigars for years and have never had any damage or loss of flavor. It's not as risky as you'd think._

*1.* Place the cigars (singles or boxes) in a freezer bag and suck out as much air as possible using a straw and lung power. Or carefully use vacuum seal bags if you have them. Many BOTL double or triple bag the cigars as an extra precaution.

*2.* Put the cigars in the fridge to slowly lower the temperature closer to the freezing point to prevent possible wrapper bursting from rapid freeze. 12-24 hours is plenty of time. Many BOTL skip this step with no ill effects.

*3.* Move the cigars to the freezer where they will stay for X hours (see mortality chart). This ensures that the temperature is reached and any potential bugs are more than dead. It's probably a good idea to double the mortality time just to be safe. This will also account for the time it takes for the cigars to fully freeze.

*4.* Move the cigars back to the fridge for 12-24 hours. Again, many BOTL skip this step with no ill effects.

*5.* Remove the cigars from the fridge and allow them to come up to room temperature (3-5 hours) before putting them back in the humidor.

*6.* Allow them a few weeks to acclimate to the proper RH before smoking.



















*Good stuff to know:*

Although 70 is the gold standard for storage temperature, beetles can hatch even below 70 degrees.

Although many producers (including cubans) may flash freeze their cigars, that is only one point on the stop to your humidor. Beetles can be introduced through a secondary wholesaler, vendor, or even that fellow BOTL or SOTL that so kindly bombed or sold you a few sticks. So prevention is key.

Eggs hatch in 6-10 days under typical humidor conditions. It might be a while after that before you would see larval activity, depending upon whether the eggs were inside the cigars or on the exterior. Larvae mature in 30-50 days, after which they pupate for a week or two, then emerge as adults. The adults get frisky and lay more eggs. Only the larvae feed - adult beetles do not. So, when are you safe in assuming there are no larvae in your cigars? 2 months in quarantine (incubation) should be rock-solid proof.

When freezing you're going to get fogging in the bag as the air in the bag cools and humidity condenses out. Cold air cannot hold as much water vapor as warmer air so you're going to go from 70rh at 20C up to 100rh at say 5C at which point visible condensation will be in full swing. This will continue until your cigars stabilize at 100rh at -15C or whatever your freezer temp is. Everything will reverse when you warm everything back up slowly to 20C if there are no air leaks or other areas for water vapor to escape.


----------



## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

Fantastic post!


----------



## SilverStreak (May 7, 2012)

RG for you sir! Its great to have that thread condensed down to something this simple!


----------



## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Suzza said:


> Eggs hatch in 6-10 days under typical humidor conditions. It might be a while after that before you would see larval activity, depending upon whether the eggs were inside the cigars or on the exterior. Larvae mature in 30-50 days, after which they pupate for a week or two, then emerge as adults. The adults get frisky and lay more eggs. Only the larvae feed - adult beetles do not. So, when are you safe in assuming there are no larvae in your cigars? 2 months in quarantine (incubation) should be rock-solid proof.


Sorry i don't agree with the sentence i have highlighted. The cigars that hatched on me were bought in January Partagas Salomones. They hatched in late September that's 9 months.


----------



## Suzza (Mar 18, 2010)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Sorry i don't agree with the sentence i have highlighted. The cigars that hatched on me were bought in January Partagas Salomones. They hatched in late September that's 9 months.


Good to know! That was just a quote I grabbed from one of the discussions.


----------



## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

Nice work trying to one up me Chris. My thread is still better.


----------



## Suzza (Mar 18, 2010)

scottw said:


> Nice work trying to one up me Chris. My thread is still better.


Suck it


----------



## GeauxTigers (Mar 4, 2013)

Suzza said:


> *How to freeze cigars*
> 
> *5.* Remove the cigars from the fridge and allow them to come up to room temperature (3-5 hours) before putting them back in the humidor.
> 
> *6.* Allow them a few weeks to acclimate to the proper RH before smoking.


This is where I am for the first time on this freezing biz. What I can't figure out is the RH once they are back in the humidor. I would think they should be a little wet going into the humi, but that has not been the case so far for me. The first 12 hours and they were at 59%, the second day they shot up to 68%, and today they were back to 62%. Seems like some wild swings to me.... Should I be proactive with this, or patient?

The humi seems to be a pretty decent one, and for the last few months was spot on after it was seasoned. Always 65% + 1%. It is a smaller one at 50 count - and I just put 40 cigars in it from the freezing process. I've been using the Humi-Care blue beads jar up until now. I live in the Mountain West where our RH is lucky to go above 40%... and usually it is closer to 25% - so very dry. The temp is pretty consistent at between 67°-71°. I had about 30 non-frozen cigars that were in it for the last few months - I removed what was left of them and added the 40 Frozen dudes, and now the wild rh swings.

Any advice?


----------



## Suzza (Mar 18, 2010)

GeauxTigers said:


> This is where I am for the first time on this freezing biz. What I can't figure out is the RH once they are back in the humidor. I would think they should be a little wet going into the humi, but that has not been the case so far for me. The first 12 hours and they were at 59%, the second day they shot up to 68%, and today they were back to 62%. Seems like some wild swings to me.... Should I be proactive with this, or patient?
> 
> The humi seems to be a pretty decent one, and for the last few months was spot on after it was seasoned. Always 65% + 1%. It is a smaller one at 50 count - and I just put 40 cigars in it from the freezing process. I've been using the Humi-Care blue beads jar up until now. I live in the Mountain West where our RH is lucky to go above 40%... and usually it is closer to 25% - so very dry. The temp is pretty consistent at between 67°-71°. I had about 30 non-frozen cigars that were in it for the last few months - I removed what was left of them and added the 40 Frozen dudes, and now the wild rh swings.
> 
> Any advice?


Just close the humidor up and leave it alone. And you should probably buy a more reliable form of humidification like beads or Bovedas. That Humi-Care crap has never worked for me.


----------



## Suzza (Mar 18, 2010)

Oops


----------



## GeauxTigers (Mar 4, 2013)

Suzza said:


> Just close the humidor up and leave it alone. And you should probably buy a more reliable form of humidification like beads or Bovedas. That Humi-Care crap has never worked for me.


Yeah - been eying the HCM Beads. From the threads I've read they sound really good.

Thanks for the info.


----------



## Suzza (Mar 18, 2010)

*Something to add about the vacuum in the bag.*

Since no freezer bags are 100% airtight, not matter how much you suck out with a straw the air will still get back in. Which means that when you take the bags out of the freezer after a few days the bag will no longer have that nice suction around the cigars.

However I have been informed by a couple trustworthy BOTL that this isn't an issue as the condensation will just go back into the cigars. Double or triple bagging is a good precaution though.


----------

